


Record store owner Frank x Fine arts student Gerard

by Chieana



Series: AU outlines from twitter [1]
Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Angst, Domestic, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Honeymoon, M/M, Stag Nights & Bachelor Parties, Wedding Night, Wedding Planning, outline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:48:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23951824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chieana/pseuds/Chieana
Summary: Frerard AU where Frank (31yo) owns a record store which is slowly starting to expand into a music store (he's been buying and selling second hand instruments and gear). Gerard (22yo) is a fine arts student at the local university.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Series: AU outlines from twitter [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726723
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	1. Main outline

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!
> 
> This is a long outline for something that could be a fic, but isn't right now. I somewhat regularly tweet (way too long) AUs on twitter based off pictures or tweets and I figured, hey, let's start collecting these on ao3. Maybe I'll start writing one-shots within this universe, maybe I will not, but it's here now, archived 😉
> 
> [Here's](https://twitter.com/ChieanaStrider/status/1256217099728564224?s=20) the tweet!

One day, while on his daily coffee run, Gerard gets a message that his class is cancelled. He's pissed about it, but as he exits his favourite Starbucks, he sees this cool display on the other side of the street for a small punk band he's been getting into (he might have sucked the guitarist's dick too, a couple weeks ago, but he'd rather forget that ever happened, he was drunk and high off the energy of the set they'd played and the guitarist looked cute while blurry).

So Gerard makes his way over and walks into the store to check it out. Turns out the album just got released so Gerard picks up a copy, then gets side-tracked by the amazing collection of queen vinyls against the wall. He marvels at the display, wishing he had enough money to actually buy some of the records, because there were some rare editions of singles there. Frank has been observing Gerard with a critical eye, because honestly, he looks broke as fuck and just casually grabbed one cd and then moved to the back of the store. Frank doesn't like it. So he decides to investigate. He casually walks through the store, keeping an eye on Gerard as he pretends to clean up the various displays (he does end up re-ordering some of them). Eventually he ends up next to Gerard, observing him with a grin.

"Can I help you? You've been in here a while now." Gerard shrieks and jumps, clutching at his heart as he's rudely brought back into the real world. He looks at Frank and immediately thinks: "Wow, dilf, hello." before Frank's words register.

"Oh, euhm, sorry, yeah, I wanted to get this album. I just got distracted, euhm. My lesson just got cancelled, so I got nothing to do." Gerard shrugs helplessly. Frank sighs, but smiles friendly at him. "Alright then, shall I ring you up?" Gerard looks at his phone and realises he's been snooping in the store for a good half hour already, so he understands Frank's behaviour a little. He yelps out a confirmation and pays for his cd, leaving the store a little embarrassed and flustered.

The next day, after school this time, Gerard finds himself back in the store, this time to browse. He wanders around, smiling about the amazing collection that's there, before ending up in front of a beaten up electric guitar. His hands itch to pick it up and try his hand at playing some chords, but then he sees the price tag and swallows. He won't have enough money for food if he buys the guitar, let alone if he wants to get the amp as well, which is, oh, okay, also over budget, yikes. 

"Hi again, this time set your sights on a guitar, huh?" Gerard shrieks again, not having seen Frank walk up to him again. Frank's eyes sparkle in amusement. Gerard pouts at him. "You've gotta stop doing that. You're gonna give me a heart attack and I'm far too young to die like that." Frank blows a raspberry and crosses his arms. Gerard kind of swoons before getting a hold of himself.

"Euhm, yeah, I was checking out this guitar. Something to save up for, I guess. It's been a while since I had my own guitar, ya know?" Frank eyes him for a second. "You play?" Gerard explains hastily that he isn't any good and always got kicked out of bands, but he loves making music and it's been a while since he's been able to do anything other than study and draw and paint. Frank seems intrigued and they somehow end up chatting about bad horror movies. Gerard leaves when he sees it's dark outside, throwing an impulsive "see you tomorrow!" over his shoulder before hurrying home.

Frank greets him with a grin when Gerard inevitably ends up at the store again the next day. He blushes fiercely as Frank chuckles. "Wanna play something? It's pretty quiet usually and I have some headphones you can plug in instead if you prefer." Gerard stares openly at Frank, feeling his heart skip a beat. "You'll let me play?" Frank blows a raspberry and shakes his head disappearing into the back room for a moment and returning with a decent headset. He sets Gerard up with the guitar and tells him good luck. "I'll tell you if I'm tired of your lazy ass sitting around, alright?" he says with a wink before returning to his normal spot by the cash register.

They settle into this routine where Gerard hangs out in the store some afternoons and simply plays for himself, sometimes testing some things out, sometimes actually writing songs, chords and notes hastily scribbled into his notebook. Frank thinks Gerard looks cute when he's super focused on creating, so he tends to zone out and gaze at Gerard fondly whenever he shows up. After a couple of weeks, Gerard thinks he's finally managed to save up enough for the guitar and amp, but then he returns home from school to find his kitchen flooded, because his dishwasher decided to break. He has to pay a hefty sum to get it fixed, so instead he just arranges that the flooding stops, but he won't be able to use it anymore and he still has to pay a lot.

He feels like shit when he shows up at Frank's store the next day and in no mood to play guitar, so he starts sorting cds, because he needs to keep his hands busy. Frank joins him after dealing with a customer, bumping his shoulder into Gerard's and asking what's wrong. Gerard tells Frank what happened aggressively, showing him just how pissed he is about it. Frank hums along, a little amused, because by the time they've finished talking Gerard has tidied up the store pretty nicely.

"Thanks for the help. Feel better?" Gerard sighs and drops his head onto Frank's shoulder with a groan. Frank melts a little and strokes the back of Gerard's neck softly, playing with his kind of greasy hair, ew. Gerard hums and nuzzles Frank's shoulder, enjoying the intimacy. At a certain point he lets out a deep breath and shuffles a little closer, heart in his throat as he delicately caresses Frank's side, turning his head to nuzzle into Frank's neck instead. Frank feels his heart skip a beat, not expecting the move Gerard just made on him. He's still debating the morals of the situation when Gerard stands up straight, looking Frank in the eye intensely. Frank gasps a little, just now realising how much taller Gerard is. Gerard leans down and kisses Frank passionately, something Frank also doesn't expect, he expected maybe a soft little kiss, not this passionate and dirty kiss. Not that he minds.

"Wanna work for me? That way you can play whenever you want and get paid for it. I will expect you to organise the displays every once in a while though." Gerard stares at Frank open-mouthed. "Euhm, sure, that would be awesome. I didn't think that's how you were gonna respond to my kiss, but okay, I can roll with it." Frank snorts and explains that he just wants Gerard to stay around and besides, if they work together, they can sneak off into the backroom and make out when it's a quiet day. And so Gerard starts working for Frank. He is expected to be there for the full Saturday because it's actually busy then, which Gerard finds out is very true. He learns how to use the register quick enough and is left to checkout all the customers as Frank goes around to sell things or works in the back on his expansion plans.

Gerard turns out to be a good magnet for new customers, because a lot of small local bands know him personally and Gerard still goes to shows outside of his work hours, so more and more people start showing up. Frank is grateful, but also a little overwhelmed and ends up having to hire another kid to help with the work. They do end up making out pretty often during shared breaks and the other kid working there (an acquaintance of Gerard's named Ray) realises very soon what the deal is. He pokes Gerard about it sometimes, but seems completely cool with it.

Then 9/11 happens and everyone gets 2 weeks off to recover. Gerard spends most his time at Frank's place, withdrawn, drawing aggressively or writing. Once Gerard realises there's a guitar in the house, he steals it to write music too. Frank let's him deal with it on his own. Eventually things roughly go back to normal and Gerard manages to get his degree without a fuss. After graduation, Gerard starts working more hours at the store, because he hates the company where he had his internship and no one else seems to want to hire him. Frank appreciates the help and company, especially now that things are really starting to grow. Frank made a good deal with a local instrument maker who also put him in contact with larger companies producing instruments. He sets up a pre-order system where people can browse a catalogue and buy instruments which he will then acquire from the companies producing them. Gerard and Ray start talking about maybe having an online store, that would make things easier, but Frank stays tight-lipped over his plans.

A couple months later, when the weather turns dreary and the shop gets quieter, Frank calls them to the backroom. "Alright, so, web shop is the next step, I swear guys, but for now we're gonna expand. This building is cute and all, but small and old. We'll be moving everything over to the new mall a couple blocks away. We'll easily have three times the space and have a lot of freedom to express our brand, so, yeah. It's gonna be hectic." Gerard cheers enthusiastically and can't resist hugging and kissing Frank (Ray knows anyway). Ray is also excited about it, but explains that he can't help during school hours, which Frank explains is no trouble at all. They move into the new place a month later and by then the web store is up and running too, Frank hiring Mikey, Gerard's brother, who needs a job and is doing a minor in web design. Mikey stays working part time as the residential ICT expert while he studies to get his bachelor of science in music.

Frank has been toying with a certain idea now for a while. Firstly, he really wants to make things official between he and Gerard and really wants to ask him to move in with him. Secondly, he's already fully prepared a contract which will make Gerard the co-owner of the store and he prays that Gerard will be okay with it. Gerard for his part has not been looking for a job at all and instead has been working on a comic book series at home. He has no hopes of it ever seeing the light of day, but he's enjoying it a lot, basing characters off the people he sees and meets in the store, but then with superpowers! The main story-line turns out to be a little bitter however, fuelled by Gerard's dissatisfaction of his status quo.

Frank takes Gerard aside one day, while Ray is manning the store and sits him down with a coffee. Gerard is immediately suspicious and a little nervous. Frank takes a long sip from his own coffee before he asks Gerard if he has any immediate plans for the future. Gerard stumbles through his explanation that kind of no he's just been drawing a lot lately. Frank snorts at that, looking at Gerard fondly. "I have two things to ask you. I want you to know that it's completely cool if you need some time to think about it. Also it's fine if you reject my offers." Gerard sits up in interest, curious. Frank coughs awkwardly before continuing: "First of all, I really like this thing we've got going on, but I'd like to be able to spend more time with you. If you want of course. I, euhm, I care for you deeply and would be very happy if you were to, euhm, move in with me?" Gerard stares at Frank with a fierce blush and an open mouth, not expecting that AT ALL.

"Think about it alright, we don't need to rush." Gerard snorts at that. "Pffft, I think my answer should be obvious. Also the lease for my apartment ends in a month and I haven't found a better place yet, so fucking hell yeah, I'm definitely moving my ass right into your place and don't think for a second you'll be able to get rid of me ever again." They hold hands with big grins for a moment.

"I also had something else to ask you, but I do want you to think about that properly," Frank stresses. Gerard frowns and leans forwards to listen. "I would like to make you the official co-owner of this place. Maybe a little quick to do that, but you're here all the time and seem really invested in improving the store. You're also great with the customers and I know you'll do amazing with our business contacts as well. You'll get a pretty significant increase in pay too, but I'm not sure you care much about that now that you'll be my trophy wife," he ends with a grin. Gerard rolls his eyes, flipping Frank off for that one. He sits back and thinks about it. Frank insists that he considers the offer seriously over the coming week and that they'll have a deadline for next Friday. Gerard agrees. Then Frank gets up and goes around the table to smile sappily at Gerard. Gerard's heart warms and he smiles back. They hold off for a whopping 30 seconds before Gerard has Frank on his back on the table, kissing passionately. They make out aggressively and giggle whenever they get up for air. "Can I move in next week?" Frank snorts and pushes Gerard away, promising he can have a key and start moving things over throughout the coming days.

They return to the store and Ray raises an eyebrow. They're far more ruffled than normal and there's a bunch of visible hickeys. "The fuck happened in there? Did he propose or something?" Gerard cackles as Frank flusters, saying it's nothing, shut up! before running back to the back. Gerard explains that he's moving in with Frank, no marriage proposals yet. Gerard gets most his art supplies and clothes into Frank's place that following week, sleeping over almost daily, when Friday rolls around. Gerard thought long and hard about it, but accepts his new role as co-owner. He didn't think about the traineeship he has to endure however and making out at work becomes a thing of the past. Ray is happy for him and actually really enjoys having two very different bosses. By the end of the month all Gerard's possessions are either moved into Frank's house (because he has a house, what a show-off) or sold and his apartment is empty.

Gerard's grandmother passes away a couple months later, leaving Gerard very depressed and downtrodden for months, until he eventually gets over the depression. He's no longer the excitable young man of before though.

The store continues to grow and eventually they have a pretty large group of employees. Ray quits after two years, because he manages to set up an audio production company for himself successfully, hiring Mikey part-time to help him out. Gerard makes cool designs for cds/vinyls/logos etc. to the side of his tasks as co-owner and the store becomes a bit of a hub for the local music scene. A couple months after Ray quits, Gerard starts going around publishers in order to find a way to publish his now finished comic book series. It takes him a long time with many rejections before Dark Horse Comics hear about him and invite him over. They're super enthusiastic and immediately set him up in a team to work with. Gerard starts working part-time for the store, but remains the co-owner, spending most of the rest of his time in the office he creates in Frank's and his home. Frank is very excited about it all and won't stop chatting to the regulars about it.

Gerard's comic is a success and he even gets nominated for several awards over the coming months. Frank is getting antsy however and he may have been carrying an engagement ring around for a couple of years now, too chicken to ask Gerard. After an award ceremony where Gerard ends up winning his first award, Gerard goes wild at the after party and only shows up in the morning to a devastated Frank. They argue which ends in slamming of doors and cold shoulders. Throughout the day, Frank manages to convince himself that he's no longer worthy of Gerard's attention and prepares himself for the inevitable break up. Gerard ignores him completely that day, instead working silently in his office. It's only when they're facing each other during dinner that they make eye contact again. Frank feels his heart break immediately and looks down quickly to prevent himself from crying. Gerard simply sighs softly. They talk quietly about what happened and Gerard apologises, explaining that it might happen more often. Frank tells him he's not sure whether they're gonna work out. Gerard says nothing in response and instead starts doing the dishes in silence. Frank leaps out of the room and prepares to go to bed, so incredibly done and so so scared. Gerard joins him half an hour later, when he's already half asleep.

"I love you, please don't doubt that," Gerard whispers. Frank snorts and turns around, angry. "What, so you only love me in whispered words in the night? How many people did you say that to yesterday, huh?" Gerard gets pissed, and feels very hurt cuz Frank hasn't ever said it to him either. He says "never fucking mind" while storming into the bathroom.

When he gets back, he sees Frank is crying. He slides in bed with him and curls around him from behind, hugging him firmly to his chest. Frank luckily allows it. "Nothing happened yesterday, or, well, this morning, I guess. Yeah it was fun, yeah I got flirty, but I'd never cheat on you. You do know that, right?" Frank sniffles and tells him to spit it out already. Gerard's confused.

"You deserve to be in the centre of the attention, you deserve to go out and be free and just do what you want when you feel like it. I'm not gonna hold you back." "Wait, are you breaking up with me?" "If you're too much of a coward to do so, then I guess I will." Gerard scoffs and lets go of Frank rolling onto his back. Hot tears make his way down his face.

"I fucking finally find the guts to tell you that I love you and you're breaking up with me. Are you fucking kidding me." Gerard feels his heart break further when he still gets no reaction from Frank. "Fuck you, asshole. The only reason I even got this far is because I know you'll be there for me once I inevitably fuck up, because that's what I do. I get fucking lucky then say something stupid, which gets me dumped and I'll have nothing fucking left."

"I won't fire you from the store, that's not how that works."

"I WASN'T TALKING ABOUT THE STORE, FRANK!"

They stay silent for a while before Gerard sits up on the edge of the bed, head in hands as he cries, just lets it all out. Frank can't take it anymore and moves over to Gerard, hugging him closely. "What the fuck do you even love an asshole like me for anyway. There's nothing special about me."

Gerard swiftly turns around and tells him in no uncertain terms that Frank is the best person he's ever met and that he's so passionate and kind and does so many good things for the community. Then he groans in frustration and kisses Frank. Frank melts and kisses back fiercely, feeling his heart attempt to beat out of his chest. He figures there's no time like the present so he moves away to grab the ring. He drops down on knee in front of Gerard, who chokes on air. "I should have done this ages ago, but I wanted it to be perfect or something, I got scared. Anyway, I really fucking love you, you dick, and there's no one else I would rather spend eternity with. I just hope I can fit into your life and provide you with everything you may want or need." Gerard flusters and doesn't know what to say for a moment.

"You love me? You actually really do?" he stumbles out. Frank raises his eyebrows before his expression turn fond. "I knew it was you when we talked for the first time. You shook me just by walking into the store, but then I got side-tracked thinking you were about to steal from me, but yeah. I knew it was you from the start." Gerard grabs Frank's face and kisses him. "Fucking, yes I'll fucking marry your ass, put the ring on already. No way I'm ever letting you go after this, bitch." Frank laughs and complies with the request.

Things are still tense sometimes after that and they argue a lot whenever either of them is stressed, but Gerard doesn't go crazy at parties anymore (it's not like he cares much anyway) and instead starts taking Frank along with him to award shows and special events (finally using his +1). They get married half a year later (Gerard = 26yo & Frank = 36yo) and Gerard keeps working part-time both on comics and in the store.

The end..?


	2. The wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding and honeymoon 😘

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some references to sex in this chapter, because, well, honeymoon ey 🙃 Anyway, while writing the very indulgent chapter in this AU I got a cool idea for the wedding and honeymoon, so I wrote that real quick...
> 
> [Here's](https://twitter.com/ChieanaStrider/status/1257506516707479561?s=20) the tweet 🖤

Shockingly, despite Gerard being a dramatic little bitch, there’s no bridezilla moments during the planning of the wedding. He takes setbacks like a pro and actually seems to enjoy them, allowing him to think of a solution which always turns out to be cooler than the initial plan. Frank isn’t very concerned beyond there being a vegetarian menu and the cake being tasty. They do end up shopping for suits separately. Both keep texting each other pictures of wedding dresses, more and more revealing ones at that, and at one point Gerard manages to convince a shop keeper to let him try on a few dresses so he can send a racy photo to his fiancé.

Gerard is fully prepared to encounter absolute chaos in the last week before the wedding, so he slowly goes through the list of everything that needs to be done together with Frank, to make sure they’re both aware of any contingency plans. A new employee in the store, a young woman in her first year at art school tells them in no uncertain terms that they’re boring old men. Frank takes offence at that and gives her a noogie. Gerard just shrugs and says that at least he’s got a fiancé, she hasn’t even managed to get a girlfriend yet. She is shocked he knows she’s into girls. Gerard just looks her dead in the eyes and says: “You’re not even trying to be subtle. You’ve flirted with every single girl who walks through these doors. If you’re in the closet, you should really try a little harder.” She responds that neither of them are behaving appropriately. Gerard snorts and Frank cheerily says: “We know!”

Mikey is Gerard’s best man, Shaun is Frank’s best man. Ray pretends to be offended by this, but also immediately turns to Mikey and laughs at him in his face for having best man duties. Mikey simply rolls his eyes. The stag parties are really fun with a lot of strippers and booze for Frank (who’s definitely enjoying himself, according to the texts he sends to Gerard while drunk) and an intense D&D session for Gerard (the absolute fucking geek). Gerard is highly amused by Frank’s texts and grills him once he gets home, already sobering up. Frank kind of breaks down and cries as he explains how he got several lap dances and that he touched other men’s penises, which just makes Gerard laugh and explain how that’s kinda the point of a stag party. “But you didn’t touch any dicks tonight.” “Hmm, you’re right, not yet anyway.” They end up fucking on the couch before moving to the bedroom and continuing their festivities there.

Because they’re two grooms, they decide to both walk the aisle blindfolded and guided by their mothers, one after the other. Only once they’re both at the front do the best men take off their blindfolds so they can see each other for the first time. It’s a ridiculously sappy moment where they both get tears in their eyes and dare the other to let them drop first. No waterworks start yet at this point.

The waterworks start during both their vows, Gerard crying over Frank’s and vice versa. They kiss chastely and are immediately attacked with white and sparkly silver confetti, Ray and Mikey having set it up. They cut the cake and get a picture before they’re on each other like animals, destroying both their suits in the process. It almost ends up as a full-out food war, but Frank’s dad manages to calm them down.

They take first dance, replicating Mortimer and Morticia’s dance with Gerard being Morticia because he’s taller. They have a lot of fun and follow the dance up with a mix of all their indie (and not so indie anymore in some cases) band friends who frequent the store blasting over the speaker system. It’s a ridiculous mix of different music styles, though probably all a little too heavy for a normal wedding (then again, nothing about them is normal).

The party turns out to be a lot of fun, even if Frank and Gerard end up talking to everyone else mostly. They get horribly embarrassed by their best men and family members during the speeches, but it’s all good. The night winds down when Gerard ignores everyone else’s attempt to chat with him as he beelines to Frank and just holds onto him.

“Wanna head out?” Frank whispers to his newly web husband. Gerard hums and kisses him on the neck. Frank giggles and turns around to peck him on the lips. They excuse themselves and make their way to a fancy hotel bordering Central Park in New York. Their journey takes an hour and a half, in which they tease each other until they’re staring at each other with blown pupils. They luckily don’t have to worry about paying the cabby, because everyone was arranged beforehand. They already checked in that morning, so they stumble into the elevator and are on each other the moment the doors close and they realise they’re alone.

They barely make it into their room before pieces of clothes start flying. They topple into bed naked and blissful and very horny. They barely sleep at all that night, constantly switching around, once one finishes, the other takes over topping to get a chain going. By the time the first light of day starts shining into the hotel room, they’re both exhausted and overly sensitive. Gerard puts on pyjamas to protect his skin, Frank makes do with just a pair of boxers. Their bedsheets are kind of a mess, so they’re happy that there’s two blankets. They use one to cover all the stains and they cuddle up under the other (after Gerard makes a pitstop to hang up the ‘don’t disturb’ sign).

They spend their honeymoon very relaxed in New York, going around various touristy places, but mostly just wandering around in Central Park, because it’s right there, it’s massive, it’s amazing. They barely get harassed as they walk around with their hands linked together, most people simply leaving them be. Frank has a breakdown several nights about the few people that do seem to have a problem with their relationship. Gerard is sure to comfort him and remind him that they’re legally married and no one can change that. Frank just wallows that he cannot believe that people still have a problem with it. Gerard only ends up falling for Frank more because he seems to care more about the younger generations not having a safe place to grow up rather than worrying about himself.

Their honeymoon ends after a week and they return home in relative normalcy. Gerard checks his mail once he’s put his clothes in the laundry and the rest of his stuff away. Frank slumped down onto the couch and turned on the tv to play some games before putting his things away. They kind of drift away from each other the rest of the day, having spent a full week together. Gerard gets right back into comic book writing, having received the notes from his editor. Frank ends up putting Gerard’s laundry in the dryer and throws his own clothes in the laundry for when the dryer’s done. He then tidies the house and starts cooking, so incredibly fucking happy that he can finally cook a proper spaghetti again.

They barely speak during dinner and Gerard remains silent as he does the dishes. Frank feels a little off-kilter due to the silence and it reminding him of their first big fight. He ends up grabbing his guitar and playing sad songs. Gerard realises something’s up with his husband (his husband! He still can’t believe it), so he finishes up quickly in the kitchen and sits down next to Frank, leaning his head on his shoulder as Frank keeps playing in a relaxed manner. Frank eventually puts his guitar away and looks at Gerard insecurely. Gerard opens his arms and Frank practically dives in, making Gerard laugh.

“What are you being insecure for, you idiot,” Gerard asks fondly as he pets Frank’s head. Frank hums and shrugs.

“Felt a little lonely because you were so silent.” Gerard hums and presses soft kisses onto Frank’s head.

“Well, we were in each other’s face for a whole week, so excuse me for not having much to say. Also, I’ve started working again and I’m thinking a lot.” Frank smiles up at Gerard. He leans up and pecks him on the lips.

“Thank you for being the best husband.” Gerard chortles at that. “I think you already earned that title, dear."


End file.
